From the Whiting Awardâwinning author of Pretend Iâm Dead and one of the most exhilarating new voices in fiction, a âthoroughly delightfully, surprisingly profoundâ (Entertainment Weekly) one-of-a-kind novel about a cleaning lady named Mona and her struggles to move forward in life.
Soon to be an FX television show starring Lola Kirke.
Mona is twenty-six and cleans houses for a living in Taos, New Mexico. She moved there mostly because of a bad boyfriendâa junkie named Mr. Disgusting, long storyâand her efforts to restart her life since havenât exactly gone as planned. For one thing, sheâs got another bad boyfriend. This one she calls Dark, and he happens to be married to one of Monaâs clients. He also might be a little unstable.
Dark and his wife arenât the only complicated clients on Monaâs roster, either. Thereâs also the Hungarian artist couple whoâwith her addiction to painkillers and his lingering staresâreminds Mona of troubling aspects of her childhood, and some of the underlying reasons her life had to be restarted in the first place. As she tries to get over the heartache of her affair and the older pains of her youth, Mona winds up on an eccentric, moving journey of self-discovery that takes her back to her beginnings where she attempts to unlock the key to having a sense of home in the future. The only problems are Dark and her past. Neither is so easy to get rid of.
Jen Beaginâs Vacuum in the Dark is an unforgettable, astonishing read, âby turns nutty and forlornâŠBrash, deadpan, and achingly troubledâ (O, The Oprah Magazine). Beagin is âa wonderfully funny writer who also happens to tackle serious subjectsâ (NPR).